Why do Northern Irish Nationalists call St.Stephens or Stephens Day, Boxing Day?

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Why do Northern Irish Nationalists call St.Stephens or Stephens Day, Boxing Day? Cannot understand this, have met quite a few recently who didn't even know what I was talking about when I said Stephens Day.

Is it more common up in the 6 to call it Boxing Day rather than Stephens Day?

[screenexile]

Yes . . . probably because we have English telly and they all call it Boxing Day. It's written in newspapers and everything else so we don't know any better.

[lawnseed]

why are we entertaining this guy? .... for talks sake.. what do northern unionists call boxing day or stephens day ho hum...

[Puckoon]

Yes . . . probably because we have English telly and they all call it Boxing Day. It's written in newspapers and everything else so we don't know any better.

Thats exactly it. Its always been boxing day flicking through the tv schedules and so on. It just kind of stuck.

[armaghniac]

There are a lot of proto-nationalists, the Boxing day thing is a good test.

[Ulick]

I thought you boys all took the Irish News? If you look at it this year you'll see the 26th listed as "St Stephen's Day".

[Tyrones own]

What does it matter really? ... it is what it is

[ross4life]

"goes back to the late Roman/early Christian era; metal boxes placed outside churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen."

It all good what people decide to call it but to be honest of the two Boxing day sounds better.

[ballinaman]

Would boxing day would have more resonance with you mayogodhelpus seeing as your an atheist and all that jazz??
All i know is that it's the day when ya still recovering from the dinner and biggest session of the year is on later!

[haveaharp]

Why would an anti northern ROI unionist be concerned with what the day after christmas day is called in a foreign country to him ?

[thewobbler]

If anyone honestly knows who St Stephen was, what he did, or why 26 December is named after him, please let the rest of us know.

[Banana Man]

Would boxing day would have more resonance with you mayogodhelpus seeing as your an atheist and all that jazz??
All i know is that it's the day when ya still recovering from the dinner and biggest session of the year is on later!

ha ha right enough why are you so concerned with a relgious day lad???

for what it's worth most i went to primary school with call it st stephens day but that's because in our primary school we had a wicked bitch of a nun and if you called it boxing day then you got boxed round the ears

however boxing day is probably accurate enough when you think of the fights that spill out that night every year in the nightclubs 

[deiseach]

If anyone honestly knows who St Stephen was, what he did, or why 26 December is named after him, please let the rest of us know.

Google is your friend

[Tubberman]

Looks like you touched a bit of a nerve there Mayogodhelpus! The nordies are getting a bit sensitive and defensive about it. 

I work with a lad in Dublin who called it Boxing Day last year when we were talking about the Xmas. He was a big Man Utd fan, that's all he talked about, so he probably got it from Sky Sports and all the english media he watched and read.
He's grown sick of soccer anyway thank god, can now actually talk to him about other subjects. So hopefully he'll be on about the Stephen's night piss-up from now on.

[Tubberman]

http://hubpages.com/hub/St_Stephens_Day_-_December_26th

And its neither St Stephen's Day or Boxing Day, its Lá an Dreoilín.

Do they still do 'The Wren' or 'The Wran' where any of ye are from?
I remember some of the local lads around Ballintubber years ago - faces painted, some with tin whistles, playing a tune and then recite the song/poem. It goes something like "The wran, the wran, the king of the birds..." can't remember the rest.

The last few years, the only ones I've seen doing it have been Traveller children going around the pubs looking for money.

Just saw that the poem is in that link:


The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,

On St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze,

Although he is little, his family is great,

I pray you, good landlady, give us a treat.

My box would speak, if it had but a tongue,

And two or three shillings, would do it not wrong,

Sing holly, sing ivy--sing ivy, sing holly,

A drop just to drink, it would drown melancholy.

And if you draw it of the best,

I hope in heaven your soul will rest;

But if you draw it of the small,

It won't agree with these wren boys at all.